Method and means for fixing nitrogen.



VV. S.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR .FIXING NITROGEN.

APPLlGA'l'ION FILED y Licence.

`To all 107mm it may com-:ern

-Innern) s'rarns rara;

ervaren WALTER S. LANDIS, OF NIAGARA FLLS, NEW YORK, SSIGNGR "IO AMERXCAN CY.ll.l\l'Al\'.l1I)l COMPANY, 0F NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, A. CORPDRAL'ION OF MANE.

METHOD ANB MEANS FOR FIXNG NITRGGEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1d., time.,

Application filed April 3, 1.9M. Serial Nef 829,385.

` Be it known that L' WALTER S. `L ANDLsy a citizen of the United States, residing ati Niagara Falls, in the county ot Niagara. and State of New York7 have invented certain new and useful ln'iprovements in Methods-and Means Jfor Fixing' Nitrogen; and I do hereby declare the Jfollowing to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the v invention,l such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a process ot' and apparatus for tiring atmospheric nitrogen and has i'or its object to render more etticient the method and apparatus non' in use, as well as to slierten the time required to make commercial calcium cyanamid.

With these and other objects inview the .invention consists vin the novel steps consti* tuting my process and in the novel apparatus tor carrying out the same, `all as Will be more fully herein disclosed andlparticularly ointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanyingl drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views Figure 1 is. diagrammatic sectional view ot an apparatus suitable for carrying out my process and Fig. 2. is a sectional view ofthe inner can or container illustrating its voraminous nature.

1 represents any suitable `furnace, but preferably lined with refractory material and also provided with a lid 2.- Inside the vessel 1 I pro-vide the foraminous vessel 3 for holding the carbid l() and support the said vessel "3 in anyT suitable manner as by blocks 4, leaving an annular space 5 between the vessels 1 and 3. The said foraminous vessel 3 is provided with holes 6 of rather large size through its Walls Jfor the purpose of freely admitting nitrogen therethrough. These holes may be in some instances as large as three-quarters of an inch toone inch in diameter, and of course their shape and relative arrangement is immateriah course that the bag 7 need not be actually formed into a bag, for the mere placing ot a fabric over the perforations (3 is su'liicient.

8 represents a resistor directly embedded in the carbid mass 10 and preferably provided with an enlarged head 9. A convenient expedient is found in an electrical connection between the lower end oit the rcsister and the bottom of the conducting` container 3, so that the said container may :term ea portion of the circuit passing through the said resistor 8. In some cases i preter to use a plurality of resistors directly embedded in the carbid mass and when l do this I may provide still other circuits.

1l represents any suitable means for admit-ting 'nitrogen to the space 5 and pertorations (i, while 12 represents any` suit able vent for the escaping gases.

ln practice the charge is ignited by bring# ing the resistor 8 to a temperature sutiicient to cause a reaction between the carbid and nitrogen; and 1- have discovered that Without theemployment of the perforations G substantiallf all of the nitrogen which reaches the mass comes in through the opi'en top of the vessel p but by providing the porous fabric 7 and the perforations 6 am enable-l to admit the nitrogen through the'asides as well as through the bottom of the vesselu When it is desired to do so and therefore' am Yenabled to greatly lessen the time required for the complete nitritication of the mass, While at no time do l otier any hindrance to the normal flow ot nitrogen through "the intersticesot the charge.

It isvevident that the nitrogen has to travel the greatest distance through the' reacting mass at the beginning of the reaction which v reaction starts only around the resistor and therefore at that time l desire to eliminate as much as possible the resistance to this dow of nitrogen. Accordingly by the substitution'or` a textile fabric for the previously used paper in vessels such as 3 l overcome to a large extent the resistance which has been heretofore offered to the flow ot" this nitrogen and because l have discovered that the paper does not become permeable to nitrogen until it is burned away which is many hours after the reaction has started. By the employment ot my loosely Woven 'textile fabric on the other hand the mass is just as porous or the resistance to the passage of.

.nitrogen just as small at the beginning of the reaction as it is when the said fabric is burned away. In some instances instead of using/a combustible fabric such as 7 I may use one of a non-inammable nature so that it could be repeatedly used for different runs.

It is obvious, thatthose skilled in the art may vary the details of my rocs's as well as thearrangement of parts omybpparatus without departing from the spiritiof my inventin and therefore I .do not Wis'h to be Valimitel to the above' disclosure except es may be required by thelclaims.

What I claim is 1. The recess-of fixing atmospheric nitrogen which consists lin providing a carbid charge; feeding nitrogen to said charge; providing a plurality of free passages for said nitrogen to said charge at itsvsides and equally distant from its center, andsuitably igniting said charge, substantially as described. y

4.2. The process of fixing atmospheric nitrogen which consists in providing a charge of calcium carbid feeding nitrogen to 'said charge; providing a plurality of passages for said nitrogen to sald charge equally distantfroma line through its center; and electrically heating a portion of said clxarge to the point of ignition'7 substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus an inner perforated Vessel, adapted to con` tain a i passing through resistor' adaptedv to be embedded in said v charge and provided with portion, lsubstantially as presence of two Witnesses.

t yfor xing'atmospheric l nitrogen the combination of an outer vessel;

charge of calcium carbid; means for feeding nitrogen to the perforations in said inner vessel; foraminous means associated with said inner vessel to prevent said carbid from passing through said perforations; and means to ignite said charge.

In an apparatus for fixing atmospheric nitrogen the combination of an outer vessel; an inner perforated vessel, adapted to contain. a charge of calcium carbid; means for feeding nitrogen to the perforations in said inner vessel; foraminous means comprising a fabric associated with said inner vessel to prevent said carbid 'from passing through said perforations; rand means comprising a. `resistor to ignite said charge, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for fixing atmospheric nitrogen the combination of an outer vessel provided with means for admitting nitrogen thereto; an inner vessel having perforations vthrough its wglls; a porous fabric inside said inner-vessel olosingsaid perforations and adapted to prevent a charge of carbid from said perforations; and a described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

WALTER s. LNnIs.

Witnesses:

E. D. MALLAM, `J. L. DoLAN.

an enlarged yupper 

